Category: Journal

15.1.15
– Equality doesn’t mean that all are level. It only means that those who are above should also respect those who are below them, just as those who are below are expected to honour those who are above them. Inequality is a fact of life, but hierarchy must be avoided.
– The street dog that we used to feed has been hit by a car & has a broken leg. Should I take it to the veterinary hospital?
– J.I.J – spirituality >> theology >> ministry
– If you’re gonna play with points, then you must have clear lines. Otherwise, just play for fun!
The world today is like a football game with more than 2 teams, no umpire and no fixed goal posts! And all the founders are dead too……
– Do a course in hermeneutics (philosophy)
– When I sleep, I (who I am) exist, but not my ego (what I feel, think & do – the conscious self or my personality). The superego (what I believe) & the id (what I want) are just the 2 polarities of my unconscious self. The ego is an outgrowth/product of the creative tension between these 2 poles.
– Instead of living slow, why don’t you just live fast, with adequate periods of stillness in between?
– Life – dance (yield – carried along by the music) > play (relate to & compete with another) > fight (kill to survive)

16.1.15
– Thought policing
Moral policing
– Hot-button issues
– Bigotry & hypocrisy
– Illegal policing
– Self-proclaimed defenders of the people
– The freedom of expression & the freedom to be offended & to dissent
– Freedom within constitutional boundaries
– Arbitrary criminalization
– An artist cannot take middle ground!
– Creative, constructive criticism
– Pushing the boundaries
– The complicit state
– Intimidation as pacification
– Contemplation is the opposite of complacency!
– Moving from caste to class
– The abettors
– Responsible expression
– Literary suicide
– The power of story-telling
– Coalition of interest parties
– Retrospective proscription
– The self-respect movement has utterly failed to uproot caste from our society!
– Progressives association
– Prophetesses
– Breach of peace
– Demonstration of solidarity
– No sustainable development without good governance – food & security for all
– Integrity, efficiency & transparency
– Self-interest & social welfare
– Doing the right things
&
Doing things right
– Centre for Good Governance
– Politicians are in the business of selling better governance
– Anti-incumbency factor
– Response to corruption more important than just prevalence of corruption
– Thirst for strong leadership in uncertain times
– Felt needs of the public – important & powerful
– Necessity of constant remedial measures
– Humble, critical & candid
– Representative government
Vs.
Efficient service-delivery by institutions
– Ceding space through inaction
– Systems & processes
– Politicians
&
Bureaucrats
– Relative judgments with limited options

17.1.15
– Say NO to uncritical creativity & uncreative criticism.
– It is time for a festival of (Christian) theology/spirituality in India/Chennai.
Global, yet Indian!
– Attending these cultural festivals is more about just immersing yourself in, & assimilating, the spirit of the event (personalities/works), rather than in what you learn/understand from specific sessions…
– Art – can the popular & the serious go together?
– There are far more (number of) great works than just the classics!

18.1.15
– A secular reading of the religious
&
A religious reading of the secular
– Edification – enlightenment, conviction & inspiration (with entertainment, of course!)
– Order these according to their priority/influence in your life:
1. Individual identity
2. Interpersonal relationships
3. Social justice
– Resource person – character Integrity, passionate for a cause and skilled in a craft

19.1.15
– Movies:
“Dead Calm”
I don’t want to kill you, & I don’t wanna die either. But I wanna live/enjoy by controlling & using you! And I’m not gonna stop at anything until I get (& keep) what I want.
“Whiplash”
You become a legend, not by seeking personal greatness, but by completely losing yourself in the Art! Ugly ego-clashes is a necessary evil that lies along this path…

20.1.15
– A team must have very few (1 or 2) leaders, mostly specialists & few all-rounders.
Can an all-rounder also be a leader?

21.1.15
– Cursed – full of leaves, but no fruit!
– Political, religious & business powers go hand-in-hand, in plundering & oppressing!
– Reconciliation – confession + repentance + forgiveness + restitution
– “By what right do you do these things? Who do you think you are?!”
– The liberal leaders (elite)
Vs.
The conservative masses (proletariat)
– “They feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.”
– Democracy – the awesome & fickle power of the crowd!
– “Don’t you care that we are not convinced about you? Don’t you want to prove yourself to us?”
– Jn. 2:22 – “After he…… then they……”
– The greatest miracles are visible only to those who have faith!
– The biggest problems of this world will not (or cannot) be solved by dramatic demonstrations of Power, but by the slow & efficacious working of the Spirit……
– Either/or >> Both/and >> Neither/nor!
– Learn & growing must go hand-in-hand with breaking & mending!
– What does fasting have to do with flatulence??
– What do you believe about who I am?
What do you think about what I say?
And how are you going to respond to what I have done?
– Jesus bears witness for John!
– Mat. 21:28-32 – Liberals & Evangelicals?
Sexual morality & political correctness
Vs.
Spiritual responsiveness & character integrity
V. 32b: The politics of spirituality – but even if it’s true, how can we also walk in the same way with these dirty & stupid people?!
– Sexy photographers
&
Beautiful artists
– Subconscious experience
Unconscious knowledge
– Not all physically attractive people are intelligent, & not all intelligent people are virtuous.
– What happens when light & darkness come in contact with each other?
– Mat. 21:37 – What a foolish owner!

15.1.15

Natural affection
Vs.
Spiritual devotion

Charismatic/liturgical
Mystical/contemplative
Prophetic/activistic
Critical/theological
– arrange these dimensions of Christian spirituality according to their respective places (degree of importance) in your faith-life. Mix & match allowed!

“According to GOD……”

Faith-love
Reason-conscience
Emotion-body
– arrange these psychological elements according to their respective places (degree of influence) in your personal life.

The saintly
&
The morbid
The mystic
&
The lunatic
The great
&
The inhuman
The genius
&
The eccentric

Salvation/eternity/divinity is the meeting of the opposites!
Contemplation – sleep & alertness merged into one – a super-trance/conscious-dream!
What is the meeting of life & death?
What is the meeting of light & darkness?
What is the meeting of truth & falsehood?

Righteous ~ self-controlled
Brave ~ magnanimous

What is it like to have holy parents?

If you cannot empathize with the other’s suffering, at least be careful so that you don’t do anything to worsen their pain.

One cannot be both a faithful family-man and the savior of the world!

Nation/law/religion
Vs.
Family/emotion/body

There are 2 kinds of victory – one is a narrow escape from the jaws of defeat, the other is a complete & confident triumph.
There are 2 kinds of defeat – one is a perfect thrashing without stiff competition, & the other is to put up a tough fight until being overwhelmed.

How come love (not peace) & war (not hate) are so similar??

Death for the sake of religion => rebirth unto immortality!

How different is the conversion of people through threat of physical violence, from the conversion done through the fear of an eternal Hell?

4Mac. 16:18-25 – the theological rationale that provides the spiritual morale (for martyrdom)!
Hagiography => martyrology
What does GOD have to say about what is being said about him?! Will he not defend himself from his own devout followers??

Religious law ~ ancestral tradition ~ national culture ~ GOD’S honor

20.1.15

What does the Christian “victory over death” mean for us today?
Moving from physical resurrection to the confronting, resisting and overcoming of death-dealing structures!

8.1.15
– Imputation ~ insinuation
– 2Esdras 7:29
– Apostles as living epistles of Christ!
– If being an ethical vegetarian is the right thing according to you, then why can you not also see exclusive monogamy as the correct sexual ethic? Isn’t man a ‘natural’ omnivore &  promiscuous creature? Isn’t culture all about taking nature forward?
Yes, but promiscuity doesn’t involve bloodshed! Gen. 1:29-30 + Gen. 9:4
Plants – green life
Animals – breath + flesh + blood (soul)
Human – breath + flesh + blood + divine image!

9.1.15
– Theology of sleep & the reality of evil
– Is it possible to be steady without being slow?
– Blood > wine > water
Water >> wine >> blood
– “We are forced to live as if we were free.”
The sovereignty of GOD guarantees human responsibility. We have no choice but to exercise our freedom… Not to do so would be to blaspheme our maker & commit spiritual suicide!
– Law – I love the world, so I am going to prohibit everyone from doing anything that would either harm themselves or others, and make it compulsory to live in such a way that would benefit all concerned.
– Distinguish:
Freedom
Liberty
Independence
Autonomy
– Salvation – healing, liberation & transformation
– Just as this life is beyond the imagination of the fetus in the womb, so will the afterlife be to us!
– Why is it that the one thing we need to do to renew ourselves is the one thing that is always beyond our reach?
– Only the ones who take the leap of faith can know the Hand underneath them, in the midst of the chasm!
– In the end, when you stand before the One, you will be naked – without any covering (deeds, possessions, recommendations, etc.)!
– How can I get out of this death called life, & get into the life called death??
Caught in between life & death, stuck in the rut……
– “Even in the Jewish sacrificial system, it is highly doubtful whether the sin-offerings were meant to change God’s attitude (from justice & wrath, to love & mercy) toward his sinful people. Man has, of course, to carry out the ritual, but it is GOD himself who has provided this means of reconciliation!”
– A psychoanalytic reading of the Bible
WOW!
– Some forms of theism are more deicidal/homicidal than atheism!

11.1.15
– Grace = GOD’S greatness in my life or in my experience or in my perception
– GOD as the watcher.
YES! There is an audience.
Amen.
– Forgiving as the essence of giving.
– Travel narrative (toward the Passion)
– How are Christians to respond to the challenges facing (Indian) society today?
Entering into education outside of the limited circle of institutional religion. Dissolving like salt into the soil of the future generation!
– Consider HOW you hear His words!
What is the response desired by the speaker from the hearers?
– MY faith IS the (evidence of the) power of GOD (to me).
– Try to connect your heart with the heart of the author as you read/listen to his words.
Let the Source reach & touch you!
– What does it mean to tell (yourself or another), “Be strong!”?
– Word >> root >> fruit!
– WHICH light are you living by?
WHAT is that which gives meaning, purpose & value to your life, especially when the going gets tough/dark?
– GOD > Jesus > Scripture > Church
Church >> Scripture >> Jesus >> GOD
– Submitting & surrendering to Him, because you are captivated by His glory (beauty, wisdom & love)!
No adoration, no obedience

12.1.15
– No more feasting, & eating only half-stomach, until I get rid of this tummy and attain an ideal body structure.
The moderation rhythm is for those who have already attained a reasonable level of excellence & want to maintain it, not for those who are still striving to break out of mediocrity.
– Maybe despair and salvation are NOT that far apart! Complacency is more remote.
Just like the opposite of life is not death, but like-warmness.
– I think the Law is not about what we should not do, but all about what we CANNOT do (& still prosper as humans). It is NOT GOD trying to limit our freedom, but GOD reminding us of our own finitude, fallibility & fragility.

9.1.15

Passion – take up your cross, carry it, and finally die upon it!

The inner mystery of the divine life
Love ~ unity ~ fellowship
Trinity – nature, history & personality

Jesus Christ – each of us is also in the divine image, but not in the same sense/equal level.

Person ~ persona ~ personality

Revelation & mystery
Knowledge & faith

Love:
I am fully yours,
I belong to you, and you to me.
But I can never be completely possessed…
Nor can I comprehensively know you!

Understand ~ control

Yes, the (one) self/person is greater than its (many) identities. But the (contextual) self cannot be (fully) realized without (the aid of) these (concrete) roles!

Without death (evil), there can be no suffering (ugliness). And without suffering, there can be no passion, or compassion (beauty)!
Without good, there can be no evil,
And without evil, there can be no greatness.
Right?
Evil > suffering
Sin > immorality
Evil as spiritual deprivation

I can progress as an individual, only if I am able to stick to the plan I have made (in the past), even when my present state of mind is not conducive for it – pressing into the (envisioned) future.
“Faith is all about continuing to believe what you found reasonable (in the past), even when your (current) senses & emotions don’t agree.” – C.S. Lewis

Trinity – being, personality & action

Distinguish:
Faithfulness
&
Dogmatism
Holding on to the original faith, but open to reinterpretation.

Faith is to believe that one is free – can be free & destined for freedom – even when one is still a slave!

Allergic rhinitis & psychological depression – clear that fucking nose!

“The great mystical work of the Holy Spirit is in the dim, nether regions of our personality which we cannot get at.” – Oswald Chambers

13.1.15

Taking life as it comes, one day at a time, focusing on momentary devotion, faithfulness & love – piety, role-playing & responding to needs as they arise, without any well thought out theology or futuristic plan – may also be a legitimate form of spirituality! This does not imply a lack of intentionality.
But this is not suitable for a leader/thinker.

Movies:
“Ladies and Gentlemen” (Hungarian)
The last scene is important! 😉

Be sharp, hot & bright!

Is the entire solar system revolving around something else?!

Psychology is not just about feelings, thoughts & behavior, it’s also about the heart, the conscience & the will!

I think that Liberals & Evangelicals are just two constitutionally different types of people who worship the same GOD. But this might just be a liberal opinion!

Liberal Evangelicals
Evangelical Liberals
I am one of the latter. Right?

How can one be candid & bold, without being loose & rash??
I don’t know! 😔

Is there a proper place for shame (like guilt) in (my) life, or should it be completely eliminated?
Being confident without becoming impudent…

14.1.15

Al Jazeera – this is what I call news!

Politics
Vs.
Governance

Strongman

Hobbesian

Vivekananda
Vs.
Hindutva

I am not Charlie!

Bookmarklets:
Evernote Clearly for Chrome (Windows)
Readability for Chrome (iOs)

30.12.14
– Are passion & balance opposites, or are they just 2 sides of the same coin?
– Complementarity & incompatibility
Synonyms or antonyms?
– Can you remain a Christian if the Bible and the Church are no longer an integral part of your life?
– What is the difference between church and Church?
– Distinguish:
Stress
&
Busyness
– To feel that you are getting somewhere is essential to being comfortable with where you are now, & to be fully in the present is essential to getting the most out of life as a whole.
– Not all people who seem to be shallow are completely shallow, & not all people who seem to be deep are really deep.
– Compare (GOD & me)
Master-slave
King-people
Father-son
Husband-wife
Mentor-friend
– “Knocking at the Open Door”
– What to tolerate and what to condemn: that is the question!
– Monetary, fiscal & financial policies
What is the difference??
– Earn, spend, save, invest & owe
– Learn, unlearn & relearn
– History is neither purely linear nor cyclical, but a spiral!
– Consistent & dynamic
– Averments
Gainsay
– Unflagging
Indefatigable
– Vidwan
– A minister’s minister
– Awards season
Public persona
– Distinguish:
Success
&
Status
– Salvation/perfection/enlightenment:
To be everything,
To want only one thing,
And to do nothing!
– Man-made weather hazards
– Imagination, insight & industry
– Teacher-education

2.1.15
– What needs to continually change (the inner life) remains stagnant, and what must be relatively stable (external environment) is in constant flux!
Is it advisable to live rightside up in an upside down world?
– You don’t have to run away from the social structures which seem to suffocate you, if you can find a way to breathe underwater!
Give-&-take
Compromise
Negotiation
Distinguishing the negotiable – can be sacrificed for the sake of relational harmony – from the non-negotiable – should be zealously protected as one’s own soul – is absolutely vital!
– What is the quantity & quality of your investment in your own personal growth?
– Spiritual evolution
Sexual revolution
Political reformation
– Knowing when to attack & when to defend is the essence of the game. Placing – attacking without taking too much risk – & counter-attack are other weapons. ALL of them are necessary to win!
NEVER mix game practice & match-play.
– FUCK happiness/comfort/safety!
LOVE wisdom/growth/joy!  ☺

5.1.15
– Consciousness shift – the center/ground from which you live needs to shift from the future-past (self/ego) to the eternal-present (GOD/Life)!
– Serials:
“The Sopranos” (Season 1)
So are his parents to be blamed for what he has become? The previous generation has become the haunting death-dealing ghost (like Adam) instead of the progressive life-giving spirit (like Christ)! How can one get out of this vicious cycle??
– Movies:
“The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies”
We live in a time of war – the only way to save your soul, is to fight, but for the right cause – i.e. not just for yourself!

6.1.15
– Movies:
“Holy Motors”
Imagination + finitude = philosophy
“Point Break”
Break-point!

7.1.15
– Negative value
– Talent + discipline = skill
Passion + focus = character
– Holiness >> joy >> love
– The perennial question:
What is the meaning, purpose & value of this/my life?
– Can I do ministry without any formal structure or programme??
Is it worth trying?
But I am afraid!
– Is there a secret way (that I don’t know yet) to resurrect myself?
– Power-signs – I don’t want a life that is full of miracles! Instead I wish to live full of wonder…
– My dog is dead!
– What is a man without a cause?
– Who I am > what I am + whose I am
– This world is mine, yours, ours & GOD’S
So what about the other species?
– He died, because he forgot (how) to breathe!
But (how) is that possible?
– If your work involves a lot of reading, observing & listening (student), then make your devotional time full of music, silence & writing.
– Spirit vs. Flesh
Spirit in flesh
Spirit with flesh
Spirit through flesh
Spirit over flesh
Spirit for flesh!
– What does fear of GOD have to do with fear of death? Exo. 20:18-20
– Remember/memorialize
Observe/revere
Sanctify/consecrate
Liturgy-ritual – rooted in the past.
Everyday life – immersed in the present.
Working hours – moving toward the future.
Community ~ tradition
– Learn ~ follow
– Word ~ message
– Image – Adam-Eve
Idol – Golden Calf
Icon – Jesus
– Exo. 20:11 & Deut. 5:15
Exodus ~ Sabbath ~ Resurrection!
– Decalogue – why is the commandment about coveting the neighbour’s wife given separately from the prohibition against adultery?
– Deut. 5:29 – “If only……….”
You wish!
– Right ~ correct ~ best

29.12.14

Try this weekly rhythm:
Sabbath day => 2 working days => freak day => 2 working days => contemplation day

All the problems one has with other people & the world are just symptoms of deeper conflicts within the self!

Being/contemplation > doing/work > wanting/relax – in priority
2 > 1 > 3 – in duration

30.12.14

Nautical

Distinguish:
Discount
&
Markup

2.1.15

Difficulty + opportunity = challenge!

The special & the ordinary – NOT apart from/contrary to/above & beyond, BUT in & through/among/by way of!

But if I have love, and no knowledge, what good can I do??

Christmas is mystery – a poor baby, who is the ultimate solution to the world’s predicament!
Hope (for the future) requires faith (in this past event)…

Noel
“Feliz Navidad”
“In exelcis deo”
Do you know what these mean?

Never underestimate the cumulative effect of a lot of small things!

“It is the mark of a good action that it appears inevitable in the retrospect.”

Fire-eater
Hothead

Off-License

I miss you:
Do you just feel my absence or is it also painful?

The past – the initiation of salvation
The present – the progress of salvation
The future – the consummation of salvation!

1Cor. 15:45 + Rom. 6:5 = we will become life-giving spirits, not remain as living persons, just like Him!

Bio-mathematician

7.1.15

Art of living:
Know when to dance,
When to play,
And when to fight.

The inadequacy of identity labels!

16.12.14

Does soft always mean weak?

A strong person is one who can forego one’s freedom for the sake of the weak other.

Law
Vs.
Narrative

Narrative
Vs.
Chronology

Creative historiography

“Explicit justification for the radical rewriting of earlier traditions… neither adding nor omitting anything.”

The classical rabbinic world

Divine communication & human language:
“God, & only God, can speak two (different) things simultaneously!”

Reinterpretation

Creation = separating, ordering & naming

And to every creature that has the breath of life (living souls), I give the plants for food.

Is the Fall also a part of the Creation story?

Second Temple Period – 516 B.C.E to 70 C.E

Anthropocentric cosmology

Human society as the earthly sovereign good!

“I can hardly help wondering all the while, whether human affairs are worth serious effort. And yet it is our unhappy lot to take them seriously.”

The heavens and the earth
The earth & the heavens

Heavens
&
Heaven

Ergonomic

Celestial beings & heavenly bodies

Work/till it & tend/keep it – man & the ground; husband & wife
Helper/assistant (vocational support) & partner/companion (personal relationship)

Gerontology

No self-control, no personal freedom

As much as the things that you experience, it is also the things that you miss, that make you who you are!

26.12.14

‘Sex work’

Navayana brings Slavoj Zizek to India!

Sexism, racism, casteism, classism, moralism, statism, nationalism, liberalism, marketism, fundamentalism, militarism, culturalism, etc.

Publicization

Queer bodies

Extend the age of (attaining) full adulthood from 25 to 30!
When you are helping someone to grow to maturity, you should know when to be tender/patient with their weaknesses, and when to be firm in stretching/pushing them forward…

“Urbi et Orbi”

Common sense bullshit!

Proper queerness

Innuendos & in-jokes

16.12.14
– Artists,scholars & activists
– What you want
Vs.
What you ought
– What you can
Vs.
What you must
– Today I attended a Mohiniaatam recitation (Classical dance form from Kerala) – Bhavan’s Cultural Festival
Dance: Music the heart, dancer the body & audience the mind.
Dance is the perfect expression of the harmony between the inner & outer world!

17.12.14
– Despair is spiritual laziness,
Apathy is moral laziness,
Passivity is volitional laziness,
Foolishness is intellectual laziness,
Inactivity is physical laziness,
Mediocrity is professional laziness,
Indifference is social laziness……
– Bread & wine:
“Gift of GOD,
Fruit of the land,
Work of our hand…”
– Never trust a sage/guru less than 40!
(unless it is the Christ)
– I must be willing to be known as a lazy, selfish & crazy person, in order to fulfill my Calling!
If I truly love people, I must be willing to do certain hard things for them, that might even make them hate me…
I must swallow my pride and serve them.
I must also swallow my fear and be myself!
– Auto-correct requires manual recorrect!
– Christ – only GOD can show us what it means to be human!
– The Cross:
1. Err – GOD, self & others
2. Confront – GOD, self & others
3. Confess & repent – GOD, self & others
4. Forgive & reconcile – GOD, self & others
The Cross – the crystallization, climax & ultimate resolution of the tug-of-war between GOD & Man, between flesh & spirit, & between male/husband & female/wife!
– How would the world be today if the feminine aspect of Man was more dominant than the masculine??
– No one truly changes unless they are forced to…
The greatest/best decisions we have ever made were never free choices!
No necessity, no invention.
Really?? What about the joy of creativity?
– You should be able to limit your freedom out of consideration for another, but you ought never to forego it completely for anyone’s sake (including yourself or even GOD).
– He who never wants to do what he cannot, and he who can never do what he does not want, will never grow!
When the internal forces & external factors are powerful enough, one can suddenly be enabled to be & do the impossible (bypassing the usual process of becoming) !

18.12.14
– CIFF has begun! ☺
Movies:
1. “The Brotherhood of Tears” (French)
The bond of loss/grief among the masses, and the super-rich vampires – two very different ways of coping with reality (hardship/emptiness) – love & greed! Excess wealth is as much a curse as poverty, if not greater…
2. “The Illusion” (Greek)
When you win, I must lose! Remember?
– Movies:
“Exodus: Gods & Kings”
To contemporary man, even the GOD of the O.T looks infantile… That’s how far we have come, by Grace, through faith!

19.12.14
– But isn’t self-transcendence better than self-control?
– Nice < good < great
– Movies:
1. “Jimmy’s Hall” (Irish)
Every hero needs a villain!
2. “Tuscan Wedding” (Dutch)
Fiasco/debacle/blunder – that’s life. Take it as it is.
3. “Charlie’s Country” (Australian)
Nostalgia
Vs.
Survival
It’s better to be marginalized than to be extinct.

20.12.14
– Movies:
1. “Love Battles” (French)
Hmmm… Good therapy! And they fought happily ever after ☺ Maybe this is what we really want!
2. “Playing Dead” (French)
Never felt so alive!
3. “Roseville” (Bulgarian)
“What if I say no?”
“You’ve already said yes! ”
– Life = play + fight + dance
Live = believe + love + work
– The opposite of something is not incompatible to it, but an essential discursive/dialectic complementary to it. Only the third (unrelated/irrelevant/unnecessary) entity is the enemy.
E.g. Life, death & despair

21.12.14
– “Sorry” can be said when you just feel bad about something, even if you have not done anything wrong.
– When it is always a question of only a right/good or wrong/bad decision, you really don’t have a choice! Choice (& therefore natural desire & free will) comes fully into play only when you have 2 or more options which are all relatively neutral regarding their moral value.
E.g. Aesthetics!

22.12.14
– Movies:
1. “Labour of Love” (Bengali)
The liturgy of industrialized relationships
2. “Stations of the Cross” (German)
Caricature or prophecy?
Sanctity & sanity – synonyms or antonyms?!
Dietrich Bonhoeffer + Walter Brueggeman = Dietrich Brueggeman!
3. “Supernova” (Dutch)
When you realize that the something, which you thought was everything, is actually nothing… then you find the Nothing out of which everything comes!
23.12.14
– Beauty & goodness – the authority that is (exercised) ‘from below’! The truth that is arrived at most unwittingly…
– Movies:
1. “The Man-eater” (French)
If you love me, then shouldn’t you allow me to keep my faith and sacrifice your desire to consummate your love, when they contradict each other? And what if it’s the other way around?!
Should Christians always strive to point people to Christ alone, & never try to save people themselves?
2. “Choti Moti Batein” (Hindi)
What is adulthood? What is maturity? What is wisdom?
I guess it’s the opposite of all that we see in this story!

24.12.14
– Radical conservatism
– Movies:
“Wild Tales” (Argentina – Spanish)
No passion (E.g. Anger), not human.
No restraint/conscience, not human.
Pacified just war! (righteous indignation)

25.12.14
– Upheaval is disavowal is unbecoming!
– Outcastes, dissidents & rebels
– Movies:
“Kuttram Kadithal” (“Punishment” – Tamil)
Start with the particular instant, but always go on to address the larger issues.

26.12.14
– Imbrications
– World-view
Life-view
Life-world
World-life
– Cash crops
– Which is worse – a bland loveless marriage or a passionate conflicting one?
– Marriage – looking at your spouse as your equal, as a child who needs to be taken care of, & someone you can look up to – all 3 – but you should know which one when!
– Christmas – missed the church worship service due to a stressor, but compensated by watching the Sunday Mass (webcast) today with Chellam!
Awesome ministry
– “The sky torn open” – our greatest fear becomes the vehicle through which GOD manifests himself in our lives, as the hero-champion who uses our greatest adversities as opportunities to prove (to us) the unlimited power of His love & truth!
– The darkness (the earthly) could not completely comprehend, and therefore control & ultimately defeat, the light (the heavenly) – the Mystery remains, forever!
– “Little baby Jesus” – we are saved (from ourselves) by devoting ourselves to care for & serve the utterly vulnerable & defenseless!

27.12.14
– I will never be normal in their eyes, & they will never be interesting to me……
– It seems that the closer you get to another, the more incompatible you become, because at our core, beneath all the superficial adjustments, each of us is utterly unique/singular/isolated! Therefore, your ‘soulmate’ can be only one & can never be another person……
Is this truth good or bad news? Spiritual fundamentals (like the nature of GOD) can never be put in such neat boxes!
– Seasonal spirit
– I think more love marriages break than arranged marriages, because the former is more emotionally authentic (more honest) & the latter is more of a social contract (more stable).
– You can give up the pursuit of happiness either because you are enlightened, or because you are depressed.
– Maybe I should just live in the present moment (consciousness – e.g. Being human) instead of trying to achieve something in the future (vocation – e.g. Spiritual director) or stay true to something in the past (identity – e.g. Husband).

22.11.14

Communion => community
Truth => love

The day of evil/hour of darkness

24.11.14

……but, in order to do those 3 or 4 life-transforming things, you have to keep doing the hundred other ordinary stuff!

Job’s comforter

Life is precious. Make each day count. Keep it fresh!

Nettlesome

Cheapjack

“If we don’t end war, war will end us.” – H.G. Wells

Moving from ritualism to sacramentality!

Distinguish:
Sentient
&
Sapient

26.11.14

“Courage is only the accumulation of small steps.” – George Conrad

“I will thank the LORD with all my heart! I will tell about all your amazing deeds!” (Psalms 9:1 NET)

“The strongest principle of growth lies in human choice.” – George Eliot

The divinization of man => the humanization of all creation!

Wainscot

Judder

Crabwise
Sidle

Pabulum

27.11.14

I love you = I respect you – “I take you seriously.”
I love you = I trust you – “I have confidence in you.”
I love you = I care for you – “I want to do all that I can to better your life.”
I love you – I share with you – “I can reveal myself deeply to you.”

If I could write one book like “Intimacy & Solitude”, my life would not be in vain.
Or if I could live out what I learn from a book like that, wouldn’t that be better?!

Wisdom, compassion & courage

Could divorce ever be a loving thing?

We must go through a long, hard process of thinking & understanding before we come to the decision on what the core issues are and how to address them best.

Superficiality is the curse of our age.

Inaction is also a decision.

Adapted self

No-self => defensive/isolated or dependent/demanding

No true solitude (deep self-knowledge) without intimacy,
And no true intimacy (deep mutual communication) without solitude.

Distinguish:
Solitude
&
Introversion

Distinguish:
Intimacy
&
Romance-sex

Self > identities (assigned roles/simplistic labels)

Taking the contemporary traditional/conventional views of “love” and radically reformulating them!

Sexual warfare!

You cannot do for another what you have not yet done for yourself.

Sex therapy as spiritual warfare!

Subtle (disguised, maybe even unconscious) emotional manipulation

Core-knowledge, core-confidence & core-love (mutual core knowledge & confidence)

Fear (inward) & hate (outward) go hand-in-hand. On the contrary…

Marriage should bring the freedom to do more, not a restricting situation.

Openness/vulnerability
Vs.
Neediness/incompleteness

Is it possible for 2 or more people in intimate relationships to live fully as individuals without killing anyone else? Or should each of them live as only half-persons in order for the relationships to survive?
Isn’t a world where half (or quarter of) the people live fully and half (or three fourths of) the people die fully, better than a world in which everyone is only half-alive (or more aptly half-dead)?
Is this the essential difference between the ancient & modern world?

What does it mean to be (spiritually) alive?
To keep moving one’s faith closer to the truth, & one’s desire closer to Beauty. And then to progressively live out one’s convictions (belief-aspirations) – becoming a good person!

The need (of the self) to be needed (by others, especially that one special other)

Less (quantity) is more (quality)

Misogyny ~ Gynophobia

What does duty have to do with choice?

Freedom & meaning ~ self-knowledge & intimacy

Fifth Gospel – if each of the four Gospel writers had their own peculiar versions of Jesus, why can’t I?

Internalized stereotypes

This author is a humanist, existentialist, liberal, relativist-pluralist, progressive, individualist & feminist

Distinguish: Male & masculinity
Female & femininity

The possessive/insecure wife
&
Her cavalier/free-spirited husband

“Stay together for the kids”

“Shit”
“Fuck”
“Bitch”

28.11.14

Chance = nature (the elemental forces) + nurture-culture (human history) + choice (individual freedom)!
Where is GOD in all of this??
……Peekaboo!

Use Internet & mobile (esp. social networking) only on alternate days.
Focus more on solitude & intimacy! 😌
From information & communication wisdom & communion

Relationship:
Oneness/unity – essential/core/spiritual/unconscious level (accessed indirectly, by faith)
&
Twoness/diversity – practical/superficial/psychological/conscious (accessed directly, by experience)

Peek + boo = peekaboo!

Bland, blind & binding notions

Marriage after singleness
Marriage within singleness
Singleness after marriage
Singleness within marriage
Co-existing stages!

I didn’t know that Internet is a capitalized word!

Secular spirituality

Soul-restoration
Self-healing
Self-therapy
WOW!
Can you please allow/encourage me to help myself?

Bonding:
Woman – romantic/psychological
Man – sexual/physical

Distinguish:
Attachment
&
Affection

Evolution
Vs.
Extinction
The choice that you face at every major juncture of the journey (individually, relationally & culturally)!
The tracks keep running – parallel, overlapping, converging, intersecting, diverging……

The we-self

We must be single when apart, & married when together!

Once in a while, can we get out of this straitjacket (of being husband-&-wife), and just be a friend/confidant/therapist to each other?
Then we can both get back into the marital roles again. We would function so much better if we had such times of Sabbath!

Irascible

“Without let or hindrance”

Welfare:
Freedom
Vs.
Safety
Self-expression
Vs.
Social order

Gaol

Civic virtue

Arresting & moving!

Hobbism

What do the prostitute and the monk have in common?

Nostrums

Human nature > our own desires & beliefs
The given, essential constitution!

19.11.14
– How can we understand the biblical language of “heaven”, “hell”, etc. apart from the notion of afterlife?
– GOD does intervene in history, but only very rarely, in exceptional situations.
– Paranormal
Preternatural
Metaphysics, not anti-physics
– The monarch
Vs.
The man of GOD
– zenhabits.net
– Spirituality & philosophy are mutually interdependent, just like theology & ethics.
– Spirit is (your) life continuing in others, through (your) Word, after (your) death – reincarnation!
– Each person’s failure to find fullness of life can/should be a stepping stone for others (coming after) to succeed!
That’s how history moves forward…
– The prohibition of consuming animal blood, in the Torah, also seems to point toward vegetarianism as the ideal.
– Professional fuckers
– The sovereign LORD
&
The inward Light
– Morass
– Truth
&
Authority
– Perforce
– Salt, light & leaven
– Frank Spina
– Egregious padding

20.11.14
– We need a spirituality that is both biblical (faithful to the original theological revelation/tradition) & realistic (relevant to our lived experience)
– Bible – read, study, meditate, reread, etc. (get into it!)
Other books – just get the gist & apply (use them)

21.11.14
– The triad:
1. Work (maximize study, household chores, personal things-to-do, ministry, and minimize everything else)
2. Freak out (music, movies, TV, outing, sleep, etc.)
3. Contemplation (Scripture meditation, reflection, journaling, writing, liturgy, silence, solitude, retreat, fasting, etc.)
Instead of balancing all of them in each day. Set apart one day for each (3-day cycle)!
Maintain basic underlying rhythm for everyday (15 min. Zazen, exercise, daily calendar check, etc.)
– “The Cross behind me (motivation/energy), the world (New Creation) before me!”
– I just wanna maximally enjoy each & every day of my life (from now until my death), and do whatever I can to help others around me to do the same.
– Game of Thrones:
The Starks – “Family (natural bonds), honour (personal integrity) & duty (to king/country)”
What if they are conflicting?!
– A perfect body (very high maintenance)
Or
A perfect soul (includes a fit body)
Choose… You can’t have both!

22.11.14
– “I can and I will!”
– Diorama
– Dianoetic
– “I bear the wounds of all the battles I avoided.” – s dutta
– “It was Grace that taught my heart to fear”
“But with you there is forgiveness, therefore you are feared.”
WOW!
– What is the difference between:
Satori,
Nirvana &
Parinirvana?

23.11.14
– Supafly 😉
– Sleep/night is the engine of action/day!
– “….out of fear of life and fear of death we fall short of what our lives could be.” – Jürgen Moltmann
I want to understand what “fear of life” means! Is it not the same as fear of death (in a different sense)??
– Serial:
“Game of Thrones” – Season 1
WOW!
– Movies:
“2001 – A Space Odyssey”
Spiritual ~ cosmic ~ metaphysical!
Reach out to touch it, & you will never be (the same) again……….
Compare with the movie “Prometheus”

25.11.14
– “What people believe is a measure of what they suffer.”
– Now I know why the book is called “A Song of Fire & Ice”!

26.11.14
– GOD (eternal & perfect) loves Man (finite & fallible).
Same nature (divine image) & everything else polar opposites…
But in GOD’s eyes, Man’s mortality is their glory!
Man (rational & independent) loves woman (sentimental & vulnerable).
Same nature (humanity) & everything else polar opposites.
But in man’s eyes, the woman’s frailty is her beauty!
– Omerta
– Death is the inability to live.
Life is the ability (freedom/possibility) to die!
– Indict
Grand jury
– Determinedly unmelodic
– Can you identify the wolves in shepherd’s clothing?
What about me?!
– The male has a limited capacity to tolerate female nonsense, & the female has a limited capacity for male nonsense.
– Can one be both naughty & mature?
– Pure chance
– What are the interactions between spirit-faith, conscience-morality, intellect-reason & emotion-body?
What are the interactions between politics, economics, culture, religion, technology, business & ecology?
– The book “Intimacy & Solitude” (by Stephanie Dowrick) must be read together by couples.
– Inter-religious theologies must be done in Christian theological seminaries along with (not instead of) biblical theology.
– The Cross
Vs.
The Bible
The Spirit
Vs.
The Letter
The process
Vs.
The tradition
The inward life
Vs.
The organizational structure
Christ
Vs.
Church
Christianity
Vs.
Religion
– Resolve that you will never be tamed, to remain wild, until you die!
– Exclusivity – it is not that I cannot control myself, but that I am not convinced about the necessity/value of such closed loyalty.
– Imaginative historiography

29.11.14
– Down time
– Hypersensitivity » over-reaction
Callousness » indifference